


Snow Job (2009)

by JennyB



Series: Advent 2009 [21]
Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Advent Challenge 2009, Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 16:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1096110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyB/pseuds/JennyB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hakkai comes up with an idea to get Goku out in the snow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snow Job (2009)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Advent Challenge 2009. Prompt: Making snowmen.

It was the morning after a huge snowfall. The sun was shining, making the fresh snow glitter like millions of tiny crystals. Hakkai was at Keiun Temple and working with Goku on his lessons. He noticed that every so often, the boy would look up from what he was working on, sigh forlornly, and then return to his studies. After a while, the healer closed the book he had been reading and asked, "Is something the matter, Goku?"

"Wha'?" Startled, the younger male looked up, and he quickly shook his head. "N-no, nothing."

Green eyes watched him assessingly for a moment, and then Hakkai's expression softened. Moving from his chair to kneel on the floor where the other was working, he looked at him seriously. "Would you like to go outside for a little while, Goku?"

The boy shook his head again. "No! I-I mean, I'm ok."

"We could do something fun," Hakkai wheedled. "Maybe, um...build a snowman? And afterwards, I'll make you some hot milk tea? Or maybe some cocoa, if you'd like?"

Goku chewed on his lower lip in thought. "Do we _have to_ go out in the snow?" he asked. "Can't we just have the cocoa?"

The older male smiled gently. "Why don't you want to go outside?" he asked. "You didn't seem to mind it the other day when Gojyo and I took you and Sanzo for sukiyaki."

"Yeah, I know, but -" The boy looked down at the floor. "You'll make fun of me and tell me I’m stupid, just like Gojyo does."

"I'm not Gojyo, and I can assure you I won't," Hakkai replied kindly. "Besides, if you won't tell me what's bothering you, I can't help you fix it, ne?"

The boy wrinkled up his face for a moment and then blurted, "I just don't want to, ok?" He turned his attention to his paper on the floor, and he began making some small doodles in the corner of the sheet. He couldn't very well tell Hakkai that he was scared to be in the snow alone, without Sanzo there! He'd think he was a big baby! He didn't know if Hakkai would understand that Sanzo made him feel safe. The idea of being without his sun reminded him too much of the time he'd spent in that cave. What if he went outside and they locked him out and wouldn't let him back in? He didn't think Hakkai would _really_ let Sanzo do that, but he didn't like the idea of being cold and alone.

"I see," Hakkai said softly, and after gently ruffling Goku's bangs, he got up and went to get his coat.

When Goku saw that, he scrambled to his feet and hurried over to the healer, grabbing him around the waist and turning a worried gaze up to him. "Hakkai! I'm sorry!" he said. "Don't go! I didn't mean to make you mad!"

The green-eyed brunet chuckled a bit at that, and he smiled warmly. "I'm not mad, Goku, I promise. I'm just going outside for a bit. Now that I've started thinking about it, I think that the courtyard really needs a snowman in it." He wrapped his scarf around his neck and after gently prying the other off of him, he zipped up his parka. "You're more than welcome to assist me, if you'd like. It's always more fun with two people." He slipped on his gloves and grinned invitingly.

Golden eyes watched the other as he got dressed. Hakkai had never lied to him before, and he trusted him when he said he wasn't going to leave. His brow furrowed a little as he tried to decide what to do. Hakkai's offer _was_ tempting, and much better than writing out kanji for the other's inspection, but still... "Maybe...can I just watch you from the door?"

"Of course you may. But you're going to have to bundle up, too. Sanzo will be unhappy if you stand in the open doorway and let all the heat out. He's already complained quite vocally about the chill in the halls." He ushered the boy toward his room, and as he retrieved Goku's outdoor things, he said, "The porch should be pretty clear of snow if you wish to sit somewhere and not get wet."

The younger male nodded, and he tugged on his boots while Hakkai wrapped his scarf around him. When Goku was appropriately attired, he walked silently beside the other, and as they left the warmth and sanctuary of the temple, he shivered slightly. It wasn't that he was really cold, but just looking at that vast expanse of white unnerved him. He was glad that Hakkai had only gone a short distance away, and he watched him curiously, wondering how he was going to make a person out of snow. His eyes widened when he saw Hakkai making a snowball. He knew very well what those were - Gojyo had hit him in the side of the head with one the last time he'd been by. It hadn't hurt so much, but the snow down his shirt had been cold. _Stupid kappa,_ he thought, and he eyed the demon warily, getting ready to duck if Hakkai threw it. His brows shot up when, instead of firing it at him, the healer crouched down and set the snowball on the ground. "Ne, Hakkai? How big will this snowman be?" he asked, wondering if they might be midgets from the small bit of snow he saw.

"Hm?" Hakkai grinned. "It can be as large as I want it to be, but I think about my height will be manageable. Maybe a little taller."

"That big? But how?" He couldn't picture how the other was going to turn that tiny snowball into something as large as him!

Hakkai chuckled. "That's part of the magic of making a snowman, Goku." With a wink, he returned to his snowball, and he began carefully rolling it between his two hands, letting the snow stick to the sides. As he pushed it around, the ball began to grow, and once it got a bit bigger, he was able to stand up to push it. By the time he was finished, it was about a metre in diameter, and he'd centred it off the temple entrance so that anyone coming out the main doors would see it.

Goku's eyes were round in awe as he watched the small snowball grow into the large snow-boulder Hakkai had created. For a second, he grinned, imagining lobbing that into Gojyo's big, stupid kappa face and burying him in a mountain of snow. "It doesn't look like a person, Hakkai!" he called to the other.

"It's because it isn't finished yet!" the healer replied as he scooped up another handful of snow to make the middle section. Holding the ball out in offering, he asked, "Would you like to give it a try?"

"Yeah! Can you bring it here?"

Hakkai chuckled softly. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come to me, Goku. For one, there's not nearly enough snow on the porch for you to make a respectable sized body. For another, it's going to be awfully hard to put the second ball on top of this one from all the way over there. This much snow is quite heavy."

The boy was somewhat taken aback by that revelation, and then he frowned a little. "You tricked me, Hakkai!" he said with a slight pout. "You brought me out here on purpose, all dressed up, and made it look all fun knowing I'd want to try it and have to go out in the snow!"

Hakkai's smile fell, though his expression remained gentle. "I didn't bring you here to trick you, Goku. I'd hoped you might want to do this with me, but I wasn't going to force you if it wasn't something you wanted to do." He lightly tossed the snowball back and forth between his hands. "But if you don't face your fears, you'll never conquer them and grow stronger."

"I'm not scared!" Goku replied, though he did drop his gaze when he saw Hakkai giving him _that_ look - the one that told him the healer knew he was being less than truthful. "I'm not!" he insisted.

"No?" A dark smirk turned the corners of the demon's mouth upwards. "Prove it."

"I -" He pressed his lips together into a thin line. Hakkai had caught him. Trapped him with logic. He either had to face his fears, or admit that he'd lied. Somehow, the thought of a disappointed Hakkai was far scarier than the stupid snow, and taking a deep breath, he stepped off the porch and hesitantly made his way over to the green-eyed male. "See?"

Hakkai smiled, and there was a certain softness in his eyes. "You certainly did. Here." He handed the snowball to Goku.

"It looks like a meat bun!" he said with a grin.

"Yes, I suppose it does. Though I assure you, it won't taste like one."

Goku giggled. "I know." He dropped to his knees in the snow, ignoring the coldness that had started to seep through his clothes. "So, I just push it?"

Hakkai nodded. "Yes. But you have to roll it in all directions otherwise you'll get an oval and not a true sphere."

"M'kay." Following Hakkai's directions, Goku started rolling the ball, and he grinned as he watched it get bigger and bigger. When it was about two-thirds the size of the first, the two of them carried it over and set it on top, then filled in the gaps with a bit more snow.

"Very nice. Now we just need to make a head."

The boy nodded, and making the snowball on his own, he quickly rolled up a watermelon-sized ball of snow, then picked it up and handed it to Hakkai to place. Once it was set, he looked it over critically. "It doesn't look like a person."

"Well, you have to put a face on it. And some branches for the arms." He walked over to a pile of brush and pulled out a couple of good-sized sticks and stuck them into the torso. "Come on, let's see what we can find to finish him off with, ne?"

The two headed into the kitchen, and Hakkai told Goku that traditionally, people used a carrot for the nose, and stones or coal for the eyes. The boy's eyes lit up, and suddenly, he was rummaging in the fridge for a few things. On the way out, he grabbed an old dust mop, giggling a little as he did. When they returned to the snowman, Hakkai lifted him up so that he could press two radishes into the eye sockets, a few pebbles for a mouth, and a big cucumber for the nose. He then draped the old, red mop cloth on the top of it for hair. "There!" Goku said as he surveyed his work. "It's Gojyo!"

Hakkai's eyes widened a little, then twinkled impishly as he looked at their creation, and despite himself, he giggled for a minute. "Oh dear... Goku, I'm afraid he's going to be a bit upset when he sees it," he remarked through his laughter. "But I think it's brilliant." He smiled when he saw the pleased flush in Goku's cheeks, and he said, "Well, shall we go have that cocoa now?"

The boy thought about that for a minute. "I wanna build another one. Can...can I come in when it's ready?"

Hakkai arched a brow at that. "Are you sure you don't mind being out here by yourself? It can wait if you want my help."

Goku shook his head. "No, it's ok. Besides, I want it to be a surprise."

Hakkai chuckled a bit nervously. "I see," he replied, unsure of what, exactly, that would entail, but he nodded. "Alright, Goku. I'll go make the cocoa and a snack for you, and then I'll come get you when it's ready."

"M'kay," the boy replied distractedly, already on his knees and rolling a snowball.

Hakkai watched him for a few minutes, and then turned and went inside to heat some milk for Goku's cocoa. He was just pouring it into a mug when Sanzo walked in to refill his coffee. "Hello, Sanzo. Cocoa?"

"Fuck, no," he remarked, and made his way over to the urn. "Where's Goku?" he asked. "I'm surprised he's not in here and pestering you to make it go faster."

"He's outside playing in the snow. I was just about to go get him."

The priest paused, his cup halfway to his lips. "You're shitting me."

Hakkai shook his head. "No. He's building a snowman."

A pale brow arched, and he made his way along the corridor and stepped out onto the temple porch. The first thing he saw was the Gojyo snowman. And he smirked. "That's got to be the kappa. I'd recognize the nappy hair anywhere." His gaze moved along the field, and his eyes widened. "Shit..."

Goku had built three other snowmen - a Hakkai with twigs for hair and two sprigs of evergreen for his eyes, a Goku with some dried leaves for hair and some firethorn berries as the eyes, and off to the side, resplendent in the place of honour, was a Sanzo. He'd put some dried hay for the hair, and a couple of big, purple marbles for eyes. But the pièce de resistance was the 'sutra' on its shoulders made from a carefully folded green scarf, and a single holly berry pressed into the centre of its forehead.

Hakkai grinned when he saw the snowmen, and he called out, "Good timing, Goku! Your snack is ready!"

The boy rushed over on hearing that, pink cheeked and grinning, and he tugged off his soggy mittens. "Great." His smile widened when he saw Sanzo. "We made snow people!" he informed the blond.

"I see that." He lit a cigarette. "It doesn't look a thing like me, but I like your Gojyo." He smirked when Goku beamed at him. "Go change before you eat."

"But Sanzo, I'm hungry now!"

"Yeah, and I don't want you dripping all over the floors. Go change."

"Fine," he huffed, and he trudged along toward his room. He paused after a few steps, and turned to Hakkai. "After we eat, can we make a snow fort?" He grinned impishly. "And maybe have a snowball fight with Sanzo?"

Hakkai smiled softly, quite pleased by the question, and he glanced over at the blond. He figured he could quite easily talk the priest into something involving firing projectiles at someone else. "Yes Goku, I think that sounds like an excellent idea."


End file.
